Aug 19 - Trapped!
Title: Day 19 - Trapped
Author: acswatwst
Rating: FR-13
Crossover: BtVS / Ghost Busters (1975)/ Secrets of Isis
Word Count: 1,089
Disclaimer: This is a derivative work. All BtVS characters and concepts belong to Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, Fox Television, and others. Funimation/NBCUniversal owns the original (1975) Ghost Busters and Secrets of Isis.
Note: The grumpy old man is an OC.
Summary: It's a trap!
The back of the old mansion looked like something out of a gothic novel, Joyce thought. A gravel road circled around to a small parking lot and a large lawn went down a slight slope down to a river. The lawn looked like an attempt at an early Victorian garden, will old statues and oddly shaped shrubs scattered in an uncoordinated pattern following a winding path.
"This is a little creepy," Rennie said. "Wouldn't want to be out here at night."
"Looks like someone read some Jane Austin and took a tour of some old English manor," Joyce said. "And then tried to recreate an English garden from a bad memory."
"I've never seen anything like it," Rennie said.
"My parents own a bookstore," Joyce said. "Books about England are popular for some reason." She shook her head. "And when you're bored you'll read anything."
"If you say so," Rennie said. "So, how do we get in?"
"Over there?" Joyce said, pointing at a large door. "Hopefully it isn't locked."
"We aren't going to be able to sneak in," Rennie said, as their shoes made crunchy sounds on the gravel.
"At least there aren't cameras," Joyce said, an image of a building covered with what seemed to be cameras flashed through her mind, wondering where that thought had come from.
"That would definitely make things difficult," Rennie said. "Very spy novel-ish."
"They must not worry too much about unwanted visitors," Joyce said, trying the door. With a low creak, the door swung open, revealing a long dark hallway.
"Couldn't be creepier," Rennie said. "Lights?"
"Here," Joyce said, spotting a light switch. Pulling it turned on a string of lights that went down the hall to a distant door. At several intervals other doors broke the plain white walls.
"One of these must be an elevator," Rennie said. "I wouldn't want to move in here and have to carry all of my furniture up to the top floor."
"If I was putting in an elevator in an old house like this, I'd put it right in the middle, like where that door is," Joyce said, in a low voice.
Rennie nodded and followed her down the hall. When they reached the end of the hall, and opened the door, it revealed a large room with a large metal gate and freight elevator on the opposite side.
"Think they'll notice us using this?" Rennie said. "I didn't see any stairs."
"There must be another one in the lobby for residents," Joyce said. "And that nasty old man is probably too busy scaring away visitors."
"Second floor?" Rennie said, pulling open the gate.
"Yes," Joyce said, closing the gate once they were inside.
Rennie pulled a lever, the elevator started shaking and moving upward. "Not something I'd want to use every day," she said, leaning against the side of the old elevator.
"Walking might be safer," Joyce said. With a rattling sound the elevator stopped. "This must be it," she said. Opening the elevator gate, she poked her head out into the alcove it opened onto. There was a small window to the left, and a hallway leading into the mansion.
"221B?" Rennie said. "Must be that way," she said, pointing down the hall.
Unimpressed at the attempt at humor, Joyce sighed and stepped out of the elevator. "Shall we?" she said.
"We shall," Rennie said, in a posh voice, before giggling.
"It must be at the end of this," Joyce said, pointing at a door with the number 200 on it in gold.
"This is bigger on the inside than I expected," Rennie said.
"Hmmm..." Joyce said. "It feels vaguely familiar. Must be an optical illusion."
They walked for what seemed a long time, passing a smaller elevator on the way.
"There's 221A," Rennie said, pointing at a door. Across from it was a door covered in plywood with a large red X in the middle of it.
"This must be 221B," Joyce said. "I don't think we're going to see inside." She pressed on the plywood, which leaned in. "Or maybe we will?"
"So, not blocking the door, it is the door?" Rennie said, cautiously pressing on it. There was a loud creaking sound and the plywood door opened as if on invisible hinges. "Oops?"
The opening revealed a short hallway, leading to a bright light. Joyce and Rennie carefully entered and walked towards the light.
"I don't think we're going any further," Joyce said, looking down, where the floor just seemed to end. "There's the river."
"Where'd it go?" Rennie said. "We didn't see this from the outside."
"No idea," Joyce said. There was the cawing sound of a bird. "What's that?"
"That sounds like Tut," Rennie said. "I wonder what he's doing out here?"
"You were told to leave!" a gravelly voice said. "So be it."
Turning, they could see the old man from the receptionist desk. Before they could say anything, he pulled the plywood door closed, and there was the sound of hammering.
"That isn't good," Joyce said, hurrying to the door. "He's trapped us in here!"
"No, not good," Rennie said. "And no way out unless we jump."
"I can't fly," Joyce said. "Can you?"
"No, but I know someone who can," Rennie said, hurrying back to the opening. "Tut!" she shouted.
"I don't think he's going to be able to carry us down," Joyce said, watching Tut approach them. "Unless he can find a rope?"
"Tut!" Rennie said. "Get Miss Thomas! We're stuck."
"Do you think he'll do it?" Joyce said, watching Tut fly up and out of sight.
"Fingers crossed," Rennie said, sitting down within sight of the hole. "If he gets Miss Thomas, she can get Isis."
"And the old man?" Joyce said, sitting down next to her. "There's obviously something going on here. He said Pete and Frank weren't here, but nothing about their whole apartment being gone."
"We might need Mr. Mason also," Rennie said. "This is not normal. Though you must have seen something like this, working for the Ghost Busters."
"Not like this," Joyce said. "Ghosts don't usually disappear a whole apartment. But it does explain why they haven't been in their office in a while. Wherever their apartment went, they're probably in it."
"Hopefully Isis or Miss Thomas gets here soon," Rennie said. "If I'm not home by dinner my parents won't be happy."
"I have to call my uncle this afternoon," Joyce said, nodding. "If he doesn't hear from me, who knows what he'll do."